Everyone figured there would be two names dominating this year’s Grammy Awards nominees: rapper Kanye West and troubled songstress Amy Winehouse. And Thursday morning (December 6), when the nominees were announced in Hollywood, West’s and Winehouse’s names came up a lot.

By the time the nominees had all been named — a serviced performed this year by Akon, Fergie, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda, the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins, country artist Taylor Swift and comedian George Lopez at the Music Box @ Fonda theater — Kanye West topped the nominations with eight. Amy Winehouse scored six, while the Foo Fighters, Jay-Z, Timbaland, Justin Timberlake and T-Pain each earned five nods. Akon, Dierks Bentley, Chris Daughtry, Feist, Tim McGraw, John Newton, Ne-Yo, Rihanna and Bruce Springsteen received four each.

Kanye and Winehouse will go head-to-head for Album of the Year honors: West for his third opus, Graduation, and Winehouse for her sophomore LP, Back to Black. Both are in the running alongside the Foo Fighters, for Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace; country singer Vince Gill’s These Days; and jazz legend Herbie Hancock’s River: The Joni Letters.

Winehouse responded to the news on Thursday, according to UsMagazine.com. “I’m honored to have my music recognized with these nominations,” the singer reportedly said. “This is a true validation from people I respect and admire.”

The 50th Grammy Awards will be held February 10 in Los Angeles’ Staples Center; only albums released between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007, could be considered for this year’s awards. The Grammys are determined by 12,000 music industry professionals who belong to the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences.

West is also up for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for his track “Good Life,” which features T-Pain. He’ll contend with Akon and Snoop Dogg’s “I Wanna Love You”; Chris Brown and T-Pain’s “Kiss, Kiss”; Keyshia Cole, Missy Elliott and Lil’ Kim’s “Let It Go”; and Rihanna and Jay-Z’s smash hit, “Umbrella.” He’s also nominated for Best Rap Album for Graduation and produced fellow nominee Common’s Finding Forever; other nods for the award went to Jay-Z’s Kingdom Come, Nas’ Hip Hop Is Dead and T.I.’s T.I. vs. T.I.P.

Winehouse, a major tabloid media target this year who Lopez said “makes Lindsay Lohan look normal,” is also in the running for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Rehab.” Also nominated is Christina Aguilera (for “Candyman”), Feist (“1234″), Fergie (“Big Girls Don’t Cry”) and Nelly Furtado (“Say It Right”). Winehouse’s “Rehab” was also nominated for Song of the Year alongside Carrie Underwood (for “Before He Cheats”), the Plain White T’s (“Hey There Delilah”), Corinne Bailey Rae (“Like a Star”) and Rihanna (“Umbrella”).

Winehouse is also nominated for Best New Artist, a category that also saw the nominations of Feist, Ledesi, Paramore and Taylor Swift. “Rehab” is also up for Record of the Year, against Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable,” the Foo Fighters’ “The Pretender,” Rihanna’s “Umbrella” and Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around … Comes Around.”

When the Record of the Year contenders were announced, Swift rushed to the side of Foos Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins and hugged them. Grohl told her, “Don’t worry — you’ve got it in the bag.”

In the Best Solo Rock Vocal category, Beck came through with a nod, for “Timebomb,” while Paul McCartney’s “Only Mama Knows,” John Mellancamp’s “Our Country,” Bruce Springsteen’s “Radio Nowhere” and Lucinda Williams’ “Come On” were also noticed. Meanwhile, Lily Allen’s Alright, Still was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album and will do battle with the Arcade Fire’s Neon Bible, Björk’s Volta, the Shins’ Wincing the Night Away and the White Stripes’ Icky Thump.

Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around … Comes Around” was nominated for the year’s Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, as were nominees Michael Bublé (“Everything”), John Mayer (“Belief”), McCartney (“Dance Tonight”) and Seal (“Amazing”). Bon Jovi’s Lost Highway, Feist’s The Reminder, Maroon 5’s It Won’t Be Soon Before Long, McCartney’s Memory Almost Full and Winehouse’s Back to Black are all in the running for Best Pop Vocal Album.

West was nominated twice in the Best Rap Song category, grabbing nods for his tracks “Good Life” and “Can’t Tell Me Nothing,” which gives him the upper edge over fellow nominees 50 Cent (for “Ayo Technology”), T.I. (“Big Things Poppin’ “), and Soulja Boy “Crank That).” ’Ye’s song “Stronger” will face off against 50’s “I Get Money,” Common’s “The People,” Jay-Z’s “Show Me What You Got,” and T.I.’s “Big Things Poppin’,” for Best Rap Solo Performance.

Ledisi’s Lost and Found also picked up a nomination in the Best R&B Album category. That album will be pitted against Chaka Khan’s Funk This, Musiq Soulchild’s Luvanmusiq, Jill Scott’s The Real Thing and Tank’s Sex, Love & Pain.

Last but not least, in a quirky intersection of entertainment and politics, Senator Barack Obama will face off with former President Bill Clinton in the Best Spoken Word Album category. Clinton’s “Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World” audio disc has been nominated, as has Obama’s “The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.” Obama previously nabbed the Best Spoken Word Album Grammy in 2006 for “Dreams from My Father.”